Thursday, May 27, 2010

DFAs in Petauke and other villages

We spent 10 nights in our tents at Petauke and 3 nights with a Zambian family. I probably learned the most from people during our DFAs here. In the village, the people had a lot of work to do to bring in their crops, but they are also a lot less rushed than they are in the city, so conversations could linger more.
We were put in new ministry teams for the rural setting. Husbands and wives went together, single girls went together, and single guys went together. Doug and I had a helper named Solomon.

May 6 – We split up and met different gov't officials. Doug and I and another couple met the District Commissioner (Kids went to the market to look around)

May 7 – The ladies put on a tea for the Dist. Comm's wife and the wife of the chief. The men went to the chief's "palace," and interviewed him for quite some time. (Kylie and Karis, with two other girls sang "Put on the Full Armor of God" for the ladies.
May 8 – Interviewed people about traditional healers and witch doctors, then went to visit one.
May 9 – Each team went to a different place of worship today. Doug and I went to Church of Christ.
May 10 – Interviewed villagers about life cycle, rituals, age mates, etc.
May 11 – We shared our life stories today in a way that would speak to an African
May 12 – Interviewed villagers about life in a village (intriguing!)
May 13 – Free day in town and to get packed and ready for homestay
Again, I could elaborate for a blog-a-piece on each DFA. They were truly fascinating, and we learned SO much. Some people have said that 40/40 gives you a 5-year jump start. It keeps you from making so many mistakes, and you discover so much about a culture that you only "thought" you knew.

2 comments:

Misti said...

Thanks for taking time to upload and post! I'm sitting amazed at the pictures of bush camp and seeing some key improvements...and that you didn't have to eat posho and greens every day for lunch--Ranch dressing and broccoli??? And that the kids were able to participate in the learning experience too. So very sorry to hear of the 2 big injuries--battle scars, right?
Misti

Kathryn Taylor said...

We actually did have nshima and greens or stew each day at lunch to help prepare us for home stay. Unfortunately, it didn't help with Caleb. He still hasn't tried the stuff. Karis did through tears, and actually liked it, so I thought we were getting somewhere.

Caleb is definitely loving his "battle scar."